Monday, September 19, 2011

The CEO stint of Charles Phillips: A mistress he could afford his brain power, energy, and extended hours

From Day 1 the notorious hard worker Charles Phillips, whose mistress is the midmarket software solutions firm Infor, has looked into the nook and cranny of the company whose vision and action marry his.

On Day 2, a brief respite from the gains and losses in Q2 of the fiscal year, the chief executive was already dealing with a smorgasbord of obstacles and opportunities from the approaching quarter. Specific resources for each product team had to be mapped out. Sales execution must be optimized. It was all on Mr. Phillips’ shoulders to steer the company upon take-off, towards the new plans that had been laid out even before former CEO Jim Schaper named his successor.

A hundred days passed. Q3 closed with 17% increase in revenues and 24% in cash operating margins, and the big boss knew he has barely scratched the surface.

Mr. Phillips does not mind spending the 12th or 14th hour, or his absolute brain power, to conceptualize with the software market’s thought leaders—his own team of executives and employees. Some of their concepts already crossed over boardroom boundaries, having been launched into the market this year, such as Infor S&OP version 1.0, Infor WFM Workbrain and Infor CRM Epiphany Shopping Advisor, and Infor ERP.

About Me

Charles E. Phillips is CEO of Infor Global Solutions, Inc., a leading provider of enterprise software solutions and applications based in Georgia. Prior to this, he was president of Oracle Corporation from May 2003 to September 2010. He also served as a director for global investment bank Morgan Stanley from 2006 to 2010. Before he embarked on a career in Wall Street, Mr. Phillips was an Information Technology Officer in the US Marine Corps, serving as Captain of the 2nd Battalion, 10th Marines. He holds a BS Computer Science degree from the US Air Force Academy, an MBA from Hampton University, and a JD from New York Law School.